Fry V Lane
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''Fry v Lane'' (1888) 40 ChD 312 is an
English contract law English contract law is the body of law that regulates legally binding agreements in England and Wales. With its roots in the lex mercatoria and the activism of the judiciary during the Industrial Revolution, it shares a heritage with countries ...
case relating to
exploitation Exploitation may refer to: *Exploitation of natural resources *Exploitation of Animals *Exploitation of labour **Forced labour *Exploitation colonialism *Slavery **Sexual slavery and other forms *Oppression *Psychological manipulation In arts an ...
of weakness, allowing escape from a contract.


Facts

JB and George Fry worked as a plumber and laundryman, earning £1 a week. But they had the reversion of their uncle's estate, subject to the
life tenancy In common law and statutory law, a life estate (or life tenancy) is the ownership of immovable property for the duration of a person's life. In legal terms, it is an estate in real property that ends at death, when the property rights may rever ...
of their aunt. They sold it in 1878 to Mr Lane for £170 and £270 respectively. They were advised by an inexperienced
solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...
who also acted for Mr Lane. When the aunt died in 1886, the interests were each worth £730, and in 1878 it would have been £475.


Judgment

Kay J cited two cases, '' Evans v Llewellin'' and '' Haygarth v Wearing'', saying that equity most commonly interferes in favour of an expectant heir, in his youth, or "a poor man with imperfect education". Where such circumstances are shown, the onus is on the purchaser to show it was "fair, just and reasonable" (Lord Selborne LC, ''Aylesford''). The undervalue was "so gross as to amount of itself to evidence of fraud".(1888) 40 Ch D 312, 321


See also

*
English contract law English contract law is the body of law that regulates legally binding agreements in England and Wales. With its roots in the lex mercatoria and the activism of the judiciary during the Industrial Revolution, it shares a heritage with countries ...
*
Iniquitous pressure in English law Unconscionability in English law is a field of contract law and the law of trusts, which precludes the enforcement of voluntary (or consensual) obligations unfairly exploiting the unequal power of the consenting parties. "Inequality of bargaining p ...
*''
Lloyds Bank Ltd v Bundy ''Lloyds Bank Ltd v Bundy'' is a decision of the English Court of Appeal in English contract law, dealing with undue influence. One of the three judges hearing the case, Lord Denning MR, advanced the argument that under English law, all impairmen ...
''
975 Year 975 ( CMLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor John I raids Mesopotamia and invades Syria, using the Byzantine base at Antioch to pres ...
QB 326 *''
Williams v. Walker-Thomas Furniture Co. ''Williams v. Walker-Thomas Furniture Co.'', 350 F.2d 445 (D.C. Cir. 1965), was a court opinion, written by Judge J. Skelly Wright, that had a definitive discussion of unconscionability as a defense to enforcement of contracts in American contrac ...
'' 350 F.2d 445 (C.A. D.C. 1965)


References

{{reflist English unconscionability case law 1888 in British law 1888 in case law